People often ask me how they can go about learning Python. It seems a lot of people want to learn a new language.
These people are easily separable in two distinct groups. Those with prior programming experience and those without. I have made that same distinction in this blogpost.
No prior experience
If you have no prior experience in programming it is very important to realize that programming has a steep learning curve. The basic principles (variable assignment, conditionals and loops) are often easy to understand but getting to know the ideas behind solutions to everyday problems often takes a lot of time. Don’t worry, if you persist there will come a moment of enlightenment, this moment is bliss.
I strongly suggest that you don’t start out badgering on your own. A good start is the How to Think Like a Computer Scientist book which is freely available on the internet.
Another good start is the Higher Computing For Everyone website made by Carl Herold. It is focused more on the C language but it gets you down on the fundamentals in a good way.
Prior experience
If you have prior programming experience then the first step is to get to know Python’s type system, OO system and it’s stdlib. Also, keep in mind that in Python indenting is part of the syntax.
After you have gotten those out of the way it is time to start working on some features your previous language might not know, or might call/implement differently.
Take a look at list comprehensions, generators and how to create your own modules.
This is off course flying through Python at lightspeed. I strongly suggest you read the whole Python tutorial which is fully geared towards programmers with previous experience so you can learn all the intricacies.
Good luck!